DOVER — A 19-year-old Portsmouth woman facing charges in connection with the death of Elizabeth Marriott appeared in Strafford County Superior Court Thursday, though it remains unclear why.

Kathryn McDonough and her mother were seen entering a courtroom on the second floor of the building at about 3 p.m. McDonough conversed with Hampton defense attorney Andrew Cotrupi before taking a seat in the rear of the courtroom during a scheduled recess.

She declined to comment on why she was visiting the courthouse.

“My lawyer told me I can't say anything,” McDonough said.

Cotrupi and Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley, who was also present Thursday, refused to answer questions about their presence at the building.

According to a court docket, Attorney General Michael Delaney and another staffer from his office were scheduled to attend an “ex parte” hearing at the court at 3 p.m. The docket did not specify the nature of the hearing, indicating only that it concerned a “grand jury matter.” Cotrupi was also scheduled to attend the meeting.

McDonough was arrested in December and charged with lying to police about her whereabouts and interaction with Marriott on the night she went missing.

Marriott, a 19-year-old University of New Hampshire sophomore, was last seen Oct. 9, and is presumed to be dead. Dover resident Seth Mazzaglia was arrested a few days after her disappearance and charged with either suffocating or strangling her inside his apartment.

Prosecutors say McDonough was engaged in a romantic relationship with Mazzaglia before Marriott's disappearance.

The attorney general's office has yet to bring an indictment against Mazzaglia. A Strafford County judge has granted prosecutors until the middle of April to prepare their case against him.